Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to brief the committee ahead of the next General Affairs Council, which will take place in Brussels on Monday, 4 February. This is the first General Affairs Council of the Irish Presidency and I will have the honour of chairing the meeting. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Creighton, will represent Ireland. The agenda is still being finalised but discussion is expected to cover the cohesion policy legislative package, our Presidency work programme and preparations for the European Councils on 7-8 February and 14-15 March. Following the meeting President Van Rompuy will join Ministers at lunch to discuss the European Council later in the week.

Before outlining February's business, I would like to update the committee on discussions at the final General Affairs Council of 2012, which took place on 11 December, as I did not have a chance to do so in the immediate aftermath. I represented Ireland alongside the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton. The main focus of discussion was on preparation for the meeting of the European Council which took place on 13-14 December and, in particular, on how to strengthen economic and monetary union. President Van Rompuy presented his report at the ministerial lunch. The ensuing debate, along with discussion at the December European Council, led to President Van Rompuy being asked to consult widely in order to bring forward a specific and time bound roadmap for strengthening EMU in June. His deliberations will be focused on four particular questions that he has been asked to explore: ex-ante co-ordination of major economic reforms; the social dimension of EMU, including social dialogue; contracts between governments and EU institutions; and solidarity mechanisms.

The General Affairs Council also held a substantial discussion on enlargement, with conclusions providing a framework for the work that lies ahead, including during our Presidency. They open up the possibility of important decisions on the western Balkans during our term. This includes possible accession negotiations for Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the granting of candidate status to Albania and the opening of stabilisation and association negotiations with Kosovo. While occupying the Presidency, Ireland will lead the Council's assessment on enlargement. A delicate balance will need to be struck in this regard between allowing time for progress to be registered and reported, and for discussion and agreement so as to enable decisions to be taken at the June Council. The timetable is ambitious but we work assiduously to secure progress on the accession paths of all the countries of the western Balkans. On Croatia, we will oversee consideration of the Commission's final monitoring report, which I am confident will deem it ready for accession. I look forward to welcoming Croatia as the 28th member state of the Union on 1 July. We will also strive to make progress on Iceland, although we recognise that the decision on the Icelandic side to slow down negotiations ahead of the elections on 27 April will have an impact. Nonetheless we would hope to open two chapters and close a further three during our term. On Turkey, we hope to open at least one chapter, if that proves possible.

On other issues, no agreement was reached at the December Council on the proposed increase in the number of judges in the General Court of the European Court of Justice. We are considering how this issue can be progressed during our Presidency. As members of the committee will be aware, the kernel of this issue is how to ensure balanced representation of larger and smaller member states. The Commission also made a presentation on the annual growth survey, which was a key input to the European semester process, and this will be considered further with the ultimate goal of agreeing guidance on the preparation of stability and convergence and national reform programmes at the March European Council. At the meeting, I delivered two presentations on our Presidency objectives. The first outlined our roadmap for the European semester 2013, setting out a practical response to the key recommendations from the Cypriot Presidency from the 2012 exercise. Our objective will be to ensure that all relevant Council formations work in a co-ordinated and consistent manner towards a thorough preparation of the March and June European Councils. Alongside colleagues from Lithuania and Greece I also introduced our joint trio programme for the next 18 months. The trio concept seeks to promote longer term and more cohesive planning between groups of Presidencies. I am pleased to report that the General Affairs Council endorsed our trio programme, which ties in directly with Ireland's national focus on promoting initiatives that deliver stability, jobs and growth. Finally, I also took the opportunity at the meeting to express my appreciation of the Cypriot Presidency, which did an excellent job.

The first item on the agenda for February's General Affairs Council is a reminder of the past work by Cyprus.

As negotiations are being advanced on the framing of the Union’s future budget, the legislative framework for this vital part of it is being prepared in parallel.

As with previous tránches of this work, we intend to seek agreement on a partial general approach for two additional blocks of the legislative package, subject to the proviso that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed". We cannot finalise the package until the MFF is agreed but we intend to make as much progress as possible. The blocks to be presented on this occasion are "Transitional and Final Provisions" and "European Groupings of Territorial Co-operation". It is possible that these may be agreed in the coming week at official level, in which case there would be no need for discussion by Ministers.

As this will be the first General Affairs Council of our Presidency, I will present our Presidency work programme. I hope that all members will have had time to study the programme, which was published on 9 January and which sets out in detail the three priorities that underpin it: stability, jobs and growth. Sustainable economic growth and employment creation require strong and stable foundations. We will aim to take forward proposals for banking union with the urgency they deserve. We will work for progress in deepening the Single Market and we will advance an ambitious agenda for trade. We will aim for effective and efficient oversight of the European Semester process in order that it results in meaningful and concrete recommendations to member states on the reforms they need to undertake to prepare their economies for the challenges of the future. We will work to secure the European Parliament’s consent for any agreement on the MFF and we will put our shoulder to the wheel to take forward the extensive legislative programme that flows from it. CAP, CFP, Horizon 2020 and cohesion all underpin growth and jobs across the Union.

Ireland will also push for a comprehensive approach to youth unemployment, starting with the youth employment package. There will be a renewed emphasis on new opportunities - the digital Single Market and the digital agenda - to deliver benefits for EU business and consumers and to sharpen Europe’s global competitiveness. The Presidency will also advance the agenda on development, humanitarian issues, and the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals.

The main task for the General Affairs Council on 4 February will be to prepare the European Council meeting that will take place three days later at which President Van Rompuy has said he hopes to reach agreement on the MFF. Following the further consultations he has had since the November summit, he feels a deal is within reach, and he informs us he will do his utmost to broker one. While the atmosphere in November was constructive and progress was made then and since, it would be naïve not to acknowledge that the task will be a difficult one. Gaps may have narrowed but they, nonetheless, remain wide. It will be important for all leaders to approach these discussions in a flexible manner, open to compromise, if agreement is to be achieved. The Taoiseach and I have made it very clear to President Van Rompuy, including in our meeting with him during his visit to Dublin on 9 January, that we stand ready to be of whatever support to him that we can. It is important that we reach an early agreement in order that we can all direct our energies to the work that needs to be done to secure economic recovery and growth.

While no formal discussion is planned for the GAC, it is likely to be discussed at the working lunch with President Van Rompuy at which he may set out his intentions regarding the handling of the negotiations at the European Council. After a deal is reached by the European Council, it will fall to us, as holders of the Presidency, to seek the formal consent of the European Parliament for the MFF regulation and the accompanying agreement between the Council, Commission and Parliament. We are conscious that the Parliament has strong views and cannot be taken for granted. We have had intensive consultations to prepare the ground and these will intensify if a deal is done at the European Council.

The February European Council will also discuss the EU's external trade agenda. President Van Rompuy shares our view that this has enormous potential as an engine for growth and jobs. It is expected that the Commission will deliver a progress report on trade, growth and jobs to serve as a reference in the discussion. This report has not yet been circulated and may not be available at the GAC. In the meantime, I can affirm that advancing the EU's external trade agenda is a priority of the Irish Presidency. Our aim is to prioritise bilateral trade agreements with key partners and we will, in particular, seek to make as much progress as possible towards an EU-US trade agreement during our Presidency.

The Council will also discuss the ongoing fallout from the Arab Spring. Debate on Syria will be informed by the January Foreign Affairs Council, which is expected to cover the overall situation on the ground, EU sanctions, and recognition of the Syrian National Coalition. It may also discuss the EU’s overall strategy and support to countries of the region following the Arab Spring.

The GAC will also consider the annotated draft agenda for the European Council scheduled for 14-15 March. The agenda is not available but discussion is expected to focus on the European Semester.

I appreciate the attention of the Committee and I look forward to hearing the committee's comments. I will be happy to respond to your points or queries.